Transneft reported on theft of kerosene for Moscow airports

Transneft, having analyzed data from May 2016 to December 2017 on the receipt, transportation and delivery of fuel to consignees through pipelines, found a shortage of aviation kerosene worth more than 285 million rubles. (15,359 tons), according to a February letter from the company's president Nikolay Tokarev to Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov. Negative balance values ​​were recorded on the Koltsevaya main oil pipeline around Moscow (KMNPP, capacity - 7 million tons), which is supplied with kerosene Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, and Domodedovo. The contents of the document were reviewed by Vedomosti, the official confirmed the authenticity. Similar letters "Transneft" sent to the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General's Office, it is indicated in it. A source in the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed receipt of the document.

In the course of inspections, signs were found that indicated "possible theft of fuel through unauthorized tie-ins" at the KMNPP using taps for the Sheremetyevo fuel and refueling complex (TZK) (75% owned by Rosneft) and Gazpromneft-aero, as well as withdrawn from the exploitation of the outlets to the "Paveletsy" oil terminal in the Khimki district of the Moscow region. The representative of Gazpromneft-aero said that the company did not receive any requests from Transneft for possible theft of fuel, and did not fix its shortage from May 2016 to December 2017. The representative of Sheremetyevo TZK did not respond to Vedomosti's request .

With the participation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 22 illegal incidents were discovered and liquidated, but it was not possible to establish the circumstances of the theft and the perpetrators, Tokarev said. Despite this, there is still a shortage of fuel. This says "about the possible existence of unidentified methods of stealing oil products," as well as "a continuing crime by an organized group of individuals," the letter said. The embezzlement carries serious risks for fueling airports, creating a threat of man-made accidents and environmental disasters, Tokarev said. Some of the stolen fuel can be received by airlines that carry out charter flights. These are flights primarily airplanes of small aircraft, says a person familiar with the appeal of Transneft. "Illicit fuel turnover does not guarantee control over its quality, which, in turn, can lead to a plane crash," warns Tokarev.

Aviation fuel can be used to make winter diesel from summer, the top manager of the Moscow airport points out. "The stolen kerosene can not get on the plane at a major airport," the source said. - The refueling stations in all Moscow airports have laboratories to control the quality of kerosene. When refueling each aircraft, a sample is taken and stored until the aircraft safely lands. If something happens with the board, the Investigation Committee checks this test. "

In a letter to the Ministry of Transport Tokarev said that the ministry does not have the authority to counter theft. The Moscow interregional transport prosecutor's office informed that the pipe passes through the territory of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which are not supervised by it, the Ministry of Internal Affairs continues checking, it follows from the letters of the state bodies (Vedomosti got acquainted with their content). Representatives of the Ministry of Transport, Transneft declined to comment.

The maximum penalty for theft from the pipeline is up to 6 years in prison, says Dmitry Gorbunov, partner of the legal company Rustam Kurmaev and Partners. The problem of cut-offs in the pipe has been around for a long time, the number of such crimes is not decreasing, he continues. In 2017, Transneft discovered 227 tie-ins in the oil pipeline pipeline system, and in the last 10 years - 2215. The main problem is the length of the pipelines and the impossibility of monitoring compliance with the guard zone (25 m from the axis of the pipe along the entire route, 50 m from containers for storage and drainage of petroleum products). "Violations are allowed everywhere. It's not so much about land squatting, as about violations by the administration of settlements (selling land for housing, shopping centers, etc.), within which the pipe passes, "notes Gorbunov. According to him, in the security zone of the main oil product pipelines there are up to 1500 real estate objects, which should not be there.